Prompted by recent terrorist vehicle attacks on pedestrians, Golden Gate Bridge officials are recommending eliminating the special exemptions that allow events on the span’s roadway.

In July, bridge officials made the unprecedented decision to close the northbound lanes of the span during the San Francisco Marathon to keep runners from being side-by-side with vehicle traffic with little protection. The bridge’s median barrier kept runners safe from southbound traffic.

That was a one-time decision to close the bridge northbound for the foot race. Now the bridge board Friday will consider the broader policy issue of whether to close the roadway for events.

“Staff recommends that the Board of Directors adopt a resolution reaffirming that the Golden Gate Bridge roadways are not available for special events and expressive activities,” reads a staff report on the issue.

Bridge officials said the topic boils down to public safety.

“In light of continuing tragic world events, the Golden Gate Bridge board will consider reaffirming our policy to keep special events off the roadway,” said Priya Clemens, bridge spokeswoman. “We are committed to keeping people safe when they come to the Golden Gate Bridge. In a world where vehicles have become weapons, it would be irresponsible to allow both vehicles and people to share the roadway without a barrier between them. Special events would still be welcome on the sidewalks.”

In a typical year, 44 special events occur on the bridge, but most are confined to the sidewalks, and those will be allowed to continue. But the San Francisco Marathon and U.S. Half Marathon have been granted special exemptions to use the roadway. If the exemptions are eliminated, bridge staff will reach out to race planners to ensure that “every reasonable effort is undertaken to accommodate these events, with the understanding that the bridge will not be closed to motorists, a physical barrier will separate opposing directions of vehicular traffic, and a physical barrier will separate event participants from motorized traffic,” the staff report reads.

Security has been a top concern at the span since the 9/11 attacks. Since then more than $15 million in state and federal grants for security improvements have been spent for both the bridge and the district’s transit systems.

While much of that is kept secret, some security improvements are obvious on the span. Patrol staff has been expanded, lighting was improved, surveillance equipment upgraded and more cameras were added.

An example is the hydraulic gates and fencing that were installed on Conzelman Road under the north approach to the Golden Gate Bridge near Fort Baker in 2006. For years, the road was known as a short-cut for motorists to circumvent backed-up southbound bridge traffic on the Marin side of the span.

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But that ended when “rising road barricades” were installed. The hydraulic barrier moves down to allow workers to drive over it, then rises to stop any other potentially dangerous vehicle from entering.

And nearby, new fencing was installed along the western hillside near the north end of the bridge and along the water on the east side, below Vista Point, to keep people out.

Discontinuing access to the span’s roadway for special events may be the latest safety precaution for the span.

“It’s something that we don’t want to do anymore,” said Denis Mulligan, bridge general manager.